"That's the same move as before..."
Illumi had watched Yuu's matches and had a rough idea of the moves he used.
Although he couldn't see the flow of Cursed Energy, nor could he see the structural properties of "Blue" or its blue-black form...
With just his naked eyes, Illumi could clearly see a vortex several meters wide ahead, tearing up bricks and debris as it surged toward him!
Accompanied by a deafening roar!
This invisible vortex, wrapped in countless fragments of stone, instantly swallowed the puppets Illumi had sent as the vanguard.
In that moment...
Throughout Heavens Arena.
All the nearby staff, fighters, residents, and tourists were startled by the earthquake-like tremors and stopped what they were doing.
"Is it an earthquake?!"
"No, that's not it—the noise is coming from upstairs!!"
Feeling the walls shaking around them, panic set in. Without wasting time to figure out the cause, the crowd scrambled toward the exits on their floors.
At this moment, even those on floors further away could feel the strange disturbance.
Let alone Illumi... who was only a dozen meters away from the vortex.
Zzzzt————
Illumi's black hair and flesh were violently pulled by the gale generated by the approaching vortex. Even his movements became sluggish.
"Such strong attraction..."
Illumi's muscles tensed, and he frowned slightly. A rare expression of something other than indifference appeared on his face.
The moment he realized something was wrong, Illumi stopped in his tracks, abandoned his puppets, and rapidly retreated backward alone.
...
Seeing Illumi continuously leaping backward, Yuu couldn't help but secretly admire his mental flexibility.
"As expected of Killua's childhood mentor..."
Just a moment ago, he was radiating monstrous killing intent, looking like he wouldn't stop until his target was dead. The next moment, he completely switched gears and committed fully to running away.
However, admiration aside.
Yuu obviously wasn't going to let Illumi escape his pursuit that easily.
"You have to pay some price."
As he thought this, Yuu concentrated, slightly increasing the speed of the "Blue" he had released along its set path.
Soon, the gravitational pull of "Blue" reached Illumi's feet, visibly slowing him down.
"So troublesome..."
Illumi felt the pulling force on his body growing stronger.
With every subsequent leap, he had to expend more aura and stamina than before.
If he slacked off even a little, he could easily be pulled into that debris-filled vortex during the brief moments he was airborne.
"What kind of ability is this?"
Illumi didn't have time to dwell on it. Before he knew it, he had fled to the end of the corridor.
There was no path forward.
So, he smashed through the door of a resident's room on the side, successfully dodging the massive impact carrying countless stones.
BOOM————!!
A huge hole was instantly blasted through the wall at the end of the corridor.
Yuu realized the attack hadn't hit Illumi directly.
He chose not to pursue recklessly. Instead, he calmed his mind to sense Illumi's position and movements behind the cover.
He coated his fist with a layer of blue "Blue," ready to deal a heavy blow at any moment.
"Although Illumi managed to dodge that 'Blue,' it obviously cost him a lot of stamina and aura."
"But his movements are still fast..."
From Yuu's perspective, Illumi was moving rapidly, constantly weaving through the rooms behind the walls without pausing for a second.
"Truly the Zoldyck family's top assassin of the younger generation. He hides his killing intent and aura well... and makes almost no sound when he moves."
Yuu offered a silent compliment.
But unfortunately, no matter how skilled Illumi was at concealing his presence, he couldn't move without disturbing the surrounding airflow.
By sensing the subtle changes in the air currents, Yuu captured every single one of Illumi's movements.
Of course, that included the burst of aura and killing intent the moment he attacked.
BANG!!!
Illumi launched himself through the wall like an arrow, his tensed knife-hand forming the tip as he thrust toward the back of Yuu's head.
He seemed to be planning to win with a surprise attack using the assassin's pride—speed.
But unfortunately...
Killua had already tried this move.
It had absolutely no chance of working.
The moment Illumi's fingertips touched the invisible "barrier" around Yuu again...
His speed slowed down once more.
Or rather, that single instant was stretched infinitely.
He could clearly feel the strength in his arm, and the sensation of slowly moving forward was there.
But to the naked eye... it looked as if time had stopped. His hand froze less than ten centimeters from the back of Yuu's head, unable to advance.
"It works from behind, too...?"
"What an incomprehensible ability."
Illumi realized the current situation was difficult to handle. Unable to think of a good countermeasure immediately, he decided to retreat for now.
After all...
In the end, he didn't really have a deep grudge against this guy, nor had he accepted a commission requiring him to kill him.
It was just that he suspected Yuu was Killua's friend.
Seeing their unusually close relationship had made him a little jealous and resentful, that was all.
"In this situation, since I can't kill him... forget it."
"Anyway, as long as Killua can't escape the control of my 'Needle,' he'll always be in the palm of my hand."
"No one can take him away..."
Thinking this, Illumi completely let go of his killing intent, and the aura around him weakened.
Illumi gave up on the assassination.
But before that, he had to figure out how to extract his hand from that mysterious field.
Unfortunately, although he tried to pull back with force, the extraction process was equally slow.
"This ability... is annoying."
"This guy is a bigger threat than I imagined... I should eliminate him sooner rather than later."
"But not today."
Illumi muttered to himself.
Then, he asked Yuu:
"Who... exactly are you? Why are you getting close to Killua?"
Yuu sensed a trace of malice coming from those hollow eyes...
However, Yuu also knew that once the opponent entered the range of his technique, they became a lamb to the slaughter, unable to break free.
So, he leisurely gathered power again and replied: "How about I ask you... why did you try to kill me?"
"This should be our first time meeting, right?"
"Killua is my little brother. When someone with ill intentions like you gets close to him... naturally, as his older brother, I should remove the threat for him," Illumi said calmly.
"What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing."
Yuu smiled. Then, he violently swung his fist, which had long been gathering a massive amount of Cursed Energy and aura, toward Illumi's chest.
For a moment, black arcs of electricity flashed around the point of impact.
Although Illumi was prepared and had concentrated all his aura on that one spot using "Ko"...
The unprecedented force that vibrated through his body still made him cough up a mouthful of blood.
The sound of cracking bones was clearly audible.
The next moment, Illumi's body flew backward, crashing through the wall and smashing through over a dozen ruined rooms in succession.
It was a long time... before he finally stopped.
...
At this moment.
The black lightning had long since dissipated.
But the massive impact and dust it generated still echoed through the corridor. The lingering sensation on his fist left a deep impression on Yuu.
That move just now was called "Black Flash."
A unique phenomenon that occurs only when physical impact and Cursed Energy connect within a delay of 0.000001 seconds.
It amplifies the power of the attack to the power of 2.5.
In simpler terms, a critical hit.
Yuu had a hunch...
If he landed another "Black Flash" of equal power on Illumi's chest...
The Zoldyck family would have one less member permanently today.
...
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